Brothers
by starlily11
Summary: When Splinter falls in battle, tempers are running high, and Mikey gets the brunt of his brothers' wrath. When he flees, he is captured and tortured by the Foot. Will his brothers come through in time to save him, or will Mikey share Splinter's fate?


Brothers

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT… wish I did, but I don't.

"Go, my sons!" shouted the old rat as the Shredder lunged once again. The sons, four teenaged turtles bearing the names of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, stared blankly at their sensei, unsure of what they were hearing. Finally, it sank in. Torn between their desire to assist their beloved sensei and their duty to him, they continued to stand stock still, the conflicting emotions they were feeling flickering across their masked faces.

"Go!" he shouted again, and they obeyed.

"But Master Splinter," began Leonardo.

"Leonardo, my son, do as I say. Take your brothers and go from here!"

Leonardo, called Leo, bowed and obeyed, leaping from the roof and onto the fire escape to get to the nearest manhole and enter the sewers, which they called home. The other three followed suit, none of them looking back, fearful of what they would see. Only Michelangelo (a.k.a. Mikey) looked back, and he could see his beloved sensei's strength waning.

With a heavy heart, he turned away and followed his brothers. With all the stealth of the well-trained ninja, the four turtles returned to their lair.

They waited for hours, anxiety filling their hearts. Still, Master Splinter did not return. Finally, the four young turtles were forced to conclude that their sensei, the closest thing they had had to a father, was gone.

Two weeks later, after far too many days of waiting, anxiety, grief, and growing anger and restlessness, Raphael finally cracked.

"HOW CAN YOU SIT THERE ON YOUR SHELLS KNOWING THAT THE SHREDDER KILLED MASTER SPLINTER AND DO NOTHING ABOUT IT?!" he raged.

Leo, in an effort to calm his brother down, began, "Calm down, Raph! I know you're sick of waiting in the lair, but-"

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN, LEO!? I'VE STAYED CALM TOO LONG, AND YOU SIT ON YOUR SHELL LIKE NOTHIN' HAPPENED!!"

That was when Leonardo snapped.

"Take that back," he snarled.

"No."

"TAKE IT BACK!!"

"MAKE ME!!!" Leonardo dove for Raphael, and the two brothers, though not for the first time in their lives, began fighting to actually maim each other. Each turtle wanted to beat the other to a pulp.

Mikey, in an effort to keep his brothers from killing each other, spoke up, and began, "Hey, guys, break it up! We're all upset, but-"

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!" snapped Leonardo.

Raphael chimed in, shouting, "YEAH, MIKEY! NOT ALL OF US HAVE THE ATTENTION SPAN OF A FLY!!"

Donatello, or Don, gasped. They'd all had their spats, but Raph's remark was completely uncalled for. He glanced at his younger brother. Mikey looked as though he'd been hammered in the stomach by a sledgehammer. Leonardo, despite his intense anger and annoyance, had remained sane enough to realize that Raph had gone too far. He punched him in the head.

That punch cleared Raphael's head, and he realized his mistake. "Mikey, I'm-" he began, but Mikey cut him off.

"Forget it. Just forget it. Why can't you guys just…" Mikey turned around and fled the lair without finishing his sentence, allowing his legs to carry him, not caring where he ended up, as long as it was away from his brothers.

As he ran, he heard Raph behind him. He sped ahead, using his uncommon speed and excellent reflexes to escape. Distantly behind him, he heard Raph shout, "I'M SORRY!" Mikey continued to run, his pain and hurt still strong. He wasn't in the mood to listen to Raph's excuses. He moved to the rooftops of NYC, and jumped from roof to roof as needed.

Meanwhile, Raphael had returned to the lair, feeling guilty for his actions. For hurting his baby brother. He was angry at himself, too. Mikey had only been trying to stop him and Leo from killing each other. Normally, he would have shrugged it off, but what was new this time was the fact that in the past, Mikey had simply taken it, and quickly forgiven him. 'If only Master Splinter were here, ' he thought. 'He'd know what to do.'

While all of this was going on, a certain rat was unconscious on the other side of town, having been washed ashore by the river. This rat had been out for, to be approximate, two weeks.

When Master Splinter awoke, his first thought was 'Where am I?' Then, he remembered. He had fought the Shredder, and because of his constant companion, aging, his strength had begun to wane, and to make a long story short, he had fallen into the river, just barely making it to shore. He had passed out from sheer exhaustion. He had no idea how long he'd been out. 'I must return to my sons,' he thought. Slowly getting to his feet and grabbing his walking stick, he set off, beginning the long journey back home.

Meanwhile, back at the lair, hours had passed, and still Mikey had not returned. Usually, when Mikey ran off, he was back by now, having already forgiven and forgotten. His three brothers, anxiety flowing through their veins, tried to reassure themselves that Mikey could take care of himself, that he was strong enough to defend himself, but it was all in vain. None of them could bear the thought of the youngest, now A.W.O.L. turtle, suffering or fighting alone.

Donatello fiddled absent-mindedly with his tools, a thing that occurred when the braniac turtle was upset or anxious about something. Leonardo was staring at the door, contemplating whether or not he should risk getting ambushed by the Foot and go out to look for his youngest brother. He kept glancing at the door as if hoping that Mikey would enter at anytime, his usual carefree, happy self, forgiving and unharmed.

Finally, Raphael, ever the optimist, (eye roll here) exploded. "THIS IS IT!! HE'S GONE!!! Just like… like Master Splinter."

As Mikey continued to run, he felt his adrenaline fading, and he stopped running… and found himself surrounded by Foot ninja! His heart pounded in his chest. Pulling out his nunchakus, he began a rather horrendous fight. Pray tell, how fair are these odds; thirty against one?

Eventually Mikey was cornered, something hit the back of his head, and he remembered nothing more.

Back at the Lair, the other three turtles had had enough. They were preparing to leave when they heard the door open, as well as quiet footsteps. All three turned, hoping that Mikey had returned. Instead, Master Splinter, whom they had believed dead, stood before them. They froze, staring blankly for a moment uncomprehending, and then, simultaneously, they whispered, "Sensei?" And then, Master Splinter found himself enveloped in a three turtle hug.

However, despite the happy moment, Master Splinter realized that something was missing. It was strangely quiet. Why? Wait, where was the idle chatter that was characteristic of Michelangelo? As he looked around, he noticed that his youngest son was nowhere to be seen, that his other sons appeared worried, and Raphael looked guilty and uncomfortable.

"I am happy to see you as well, my sons," he said after a moment. "But where is Michelangelo?"

Donatello spoke up, replying, "We… we don't know, Sensei."

"My son, what happened?"

Raphael broke in blubbering, (yes, Raphael is actually _blubbering _at this point!) It's all my fault. I blew up, Leo and I got in a fight, Mikey was trying to keep us from killing each other, and I blew up at him."

"Raphael, my son, what exactly did you say to him?"

Raphael bowed his head in shame. In a whisper, he replied, "I told him he had the attention span of a fly."

Master Splinter was stunned, but his face outwardly only showed sadness and disappointment, and that hurt Raphael more than anything verbally or physically done to him could.

After a moment of uncomfortable and worried silence, Master Splinter spoke.

"Come, my sons. We must find your brother."

In response, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello began to leave, Master Splinter leading the way.

When Mikey awoke, there was darkness. He opened his eyes, yet he remained blind. Nor could he hear or feel anything. Even more frightening, the young turtle found that he couldn't move a single, solitary muscle. For a brief moment, he could not remember what had happened, but once his head cleared, the awful reality sank in. He was now a captive.

With a start, he realized that he could hear faint whispers around him. Mikey dared not try to move, nor did he venture to speak, for fear that he would alert his enemies to the fact that he was awake.

No such luck. A menacing voice that he knew all too well hissed in his ear, "Tell me where your lair is."

"Never," croaked Mikey, his voice cracked from disuse.

The Shredder growled in response. "Then it will be all the worse for you. You **will **tell me sooner or later."

Mikey felt rage set in, and he seethed silently. "NEVER!!" he shouted defiantly. "NEVER!!!"

There was no response, and Mikey silently and solemnly vowed that he would never betray his brothers and dishonor Master Splinter. 'Come what may,' he vowed silently, 'Come what may, I will never surrender. I will **not** be broken!'

Michelangelo waited silently, preparing himself for the inevitable. The Shredder would torture him, he knew. There would be no mercy. He had to stay strong, find his inner strength, as Master Splinter had often told them. He remembered Leonardo, and what he had said to Mikey before the Battle Nexus rematch.

_Flashback _

_"Hey, Leo, where're we goin'?" asked Mikey. The two brothers were climbing a mountain. "Is there a chance we're taking a mountain route out of here?"_

_The moon shone high in the sky, bathing everything in her silver glow._

_The blue-banded brother turned to face his orange clad brother. "I'm taking you somewhere where you can focus, so that you will never lose it completely again," Leonardo replied. "If one of us goes down, we all go down. We only have each other."_

_End Flashback_

Mikey whimpered slightly. He was going down, all right. But that didn't mean he couldn't protect his brothers while he was still breathing. The whisperings began again.

"You're worthless," they whispered. "You're never focused. Nobody cares about you, _Michelangelo_."

"My brothers care," he replied. "Master Splinter cared."

"All lies," they persisted. "All fabrications created in your silly mind."

"They **do** care!"

"Pretenses. All pretenses."

Mikey felt his resolve weaken and felt doubt set in, but then, he recalled the good times he, his brothers, and Master Splinter had had. His family cared. April and Casey cared. He was not alone.

"SHUT UP!!!" he shouted. "SHUT UP!!"

It became silent, and then, white-hot pain ripped through his body. Under his blindfold, he saw a flash or greenish light. He recognized it. It was electricity, and from what he vaguely remembered from one of Don's lectures, he realized that there was only one way the power could work like that; he was in water with an electrical current!

Again, the same pain roared through him, once, twice, and then again. Skull-splitting agony clouded his reasoning, and all he wanted was for the pain to stopstopstopstopstop. For a moment the pain faded, and he could think straight. He cursed himself for his weakness. Was he going to wimp out and spill just because of a little electrocution? "NEVER!!!" he yelled. And the torture continued.

Meanwhile, Mikey's brothers and father were scouring the city in search of the youngest turtle. As he leapt from one rooftop to the next, Raphael had an epiphany. What if Mikey had been taken by the Foot? God forbid. Raphael shuddered at the thought of his baby brother suffering at the hands of the power-crazed, sadistic maniacs leading the forces of the Foot.

"Dad?" he asked.

"Yes, my son?" was the response.

"I've got an idea where Mikey's at."

"Where, my son?"

"I think Mikey's in trouble. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, if ya know what I mean."

Everybody froze. Raphael didn't need to clarify. They all knew what he meant.

Master Splinter was the first to recover. His face moved from a look of horror and fear to an expression of grim determination. He shuddered at the images that flashed through his mind as he imagined what Michelangelo could be going through. He shook them off, and, with his mouth pressed into a thin line, spoke. "Come, my sons. We must save Michelangelo."

Mikey, meanwhile, had moved from electrocution to knife torture. Knives were drawn across his skin, leaving trails of blood. The turtle grimaced in pain, all the while trying to picture Leo's, Raph's, Don's, and Master Splinter's faces in his mind's eye. If he could just picture them, he would be fine. As long as he somehow had his family with him, even if it was only in his heart and mind, he would be fine.

As he felt the blade draw another line in his flesh, he noticed a way to escape. Hope unlooked for entered his heart, and he found that he could move again. He wiggled a little bit, to loosen his bonds. Ah! Yes! His hand was free! In less than a minute, Mikey had freed himself and had begun the fight of his life.

The Foot forces were many, and soon, because of his wounds, Mikey felt his strength fading quickly. He swung his 'chucks and took out a couple more ninjas, and finally crashed through a window, glass piercing his skin, and he hit the ground, battered and broken, far below.

Approximately five seconds after Mikey's fall, his father and brothers arrived. Raphael felt his heart go cold. A broken window on the thirteenth floor was stained red with blood. Raphael glanced around at his family, short one Michelangelo. Leonardo's face was one full of fear and pain. Donatello's face revealed raw feelings of intense fear, horror, and anguish. Master Splinter wore an expression of intense worry.

Raphael ran to the area on the ground below the shattered window. There lay Mikey, on a bed of glass shards, stained red with his blood.

"No," whispered the red-banded brother as he lifted Mikey from the pile of shattered glass. "No, please God, not Mikey…"

Raphael clutched Mikey to his plastron, willing his baby brother to open his eyes and say something. He heard glass crunch as his brothers and father approached.

Master Splinter knelt down on Mikey's other side, murmuring, "Michelangelo. Michelangelo, my son. Can you hear me?"

A cracked, broken whisper came from Mikey's lips. "Sensei? I thought you were…" Mikey's voice died.

"I understand, my son. But you must not leave us yet. You must hold on. Stay with us."

"Sensei?" came the cracked whisper, weaker this time, once again.

"Yes, my son?"

"Tell Raph that… that… I forgive him."

Those words were what broke Raphael. Tears spilled from his eyes. "Mike, Mikey, no…" he moaned. "Don't leave us, little bro." The older turtle's body shook from the force of his sobs.

His head flew back, his mouth flying open in a silent cry of pain. "MIKEY!!! NO!!!" The sound of Raphael screaming his brother's name and his roar of denial was both blood chilling and heart rending. The Foot retreated at the sound, and even Leonardo, the solid pillar of strength, broke down, tears streaming down his face.

Raphael lifted his brother's inert form from the ground and stood, a broken man…er, turtle. Leonardo stood as well, taking one of Mikey's arms, sharing in his hot tempered brother's burden. Raphael took the other, and Donatello took both legs. Master Splinter led the way, and, carrying their fallen brother, they returned to the lair.

When Mikey next awakened, there was warmth and light. He did not dare to open his eyes, for fear that this was one of the Shredder's tricks. It was hardly beneath the Shredder to try and trick him into giving the Foot information. Well, it wasn't going to happen. He squeezed his eyes more tightly shut. A hand squeezed his. It was callused from endless training with weapons, but the touch was gentle. Mikey knew those hands. They were Raph's.

Wait… what if it wasn't Raph? What if this was some cruel trick, designed to convince him to let his guard down? He would hardly put it past the Shredder to do such a thing. He had to stay strong. The emotional pain, however, was too much to bear.

"No," he moaned. "No."

"Master Splinter!" came an anguished, pain-filled voice. It was Raphael.

"What is it, Raphael?" Master Splinter. But he was dead…

"It's Mikey. I think he's in pain." Raph's voice cracked on the word 'pain'.

Master Splinter hands stroked Mikey's forehead. Mikey heard his father whisper, "My son, you are safe. You must wake up."

Mikey moaned, and whispered, his eyes still closed, "This is low, even for you, Shredder. But rest assured, I will not fall for this cruel trick, and I will **never** betray my family. _Never_…" That speech had taken all of his strength, and he trailed off, slipping back into unconsciousness.

Raphael winced. What had those Foot goons done to Mikey? He glanced helplessly at Master Splinter, whose face looked grave and more than slightly disturbed. The fiery, feisty turtle felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him for what he'd said to his younger brother. If only he hadn't said that to Mikey, his little brother would never have been out there. He would never have gotten captured and had God knows what done to him by the Foot.

Splinter was taken by surprise. What had Michelangelo gone through to cause him to make such a passionate, angered statement? It was clear that his strength ran deep, despite how much pain he'd obviously been in. What had been done to his vibrant, lively, and sometimes exasperating son? He glanced at Raphael, whose face was a mask of agonized guilt. He still clutched his unconscious brother's hand, almost as though he believed that if his will was strong enough, his brother would awaken.

Just then, he sensed two presences behind him. He turned to face Leonardo and Donatello, who had entered the room. Donatello carried a stack of papers, obviously an analysis of his brother's condition, and he was reading them, a look of disbelief and no small amount of anger on his face. Leonardo's face was expressionless, revealing nothing, but his eyes burned with anger.

As Leonardo gazed down at his youngest, broken brother, feeling tears pricking at his eyes, he began to realize exactly how much he hated the Foot. He felt hatred and anger replace his sorrow. The Foot would pay dearly for what they had done to his baby brother, oh, yes, they would pay most dearly. Gently, he traced the lines on his youngest brother's face. Those lines had been caused by intense pain and a massive amount of torture. "Sorry, Mikey," he whispered. "I should've done a better job of protecting you. I've failed." Guilt overcame hatred and anger. He and his brothers protected Mikey fiercely. The youngest turtle had a childlike innocence to him, and that innocence was something Leonardo and the others fought to preserve for as long as possible. That was why they all hated it when something like what had happened occurred, because it meant that they had failed, and there was the risk of losing the vibrant, funny, and often obnoxious little brother that they all loved. Leonardo turned away to hide the tears that threatened to spill over, and he allowed his head to drop into his hands.

Donatello felt revulsion, hate, anger, and pain flowing through him as he read his analysis of his little brother. He knew in detail what had been done to Mikey. It was disgusting, what he had gone through. The slow electrocution, the knives, the drugs, he knew every little detail. He silently cursed his medical knowledge. It was so painful at times; to know what had been done to someone you cared about. He had wept many silent tears as he tended Mikey's numerous wounds. The Shredder had already done enough to them, but what that monster had done to Mikey was the worst. Only a monster would willingly do the things that had been done to Mikey. Certainly, they all smacked the orange turtle upside the head often, but it was always done with a certain exasperated affection. Yes, there were times when they wanted to throttle the youngest turtle, and when Raph had pounded Mikey, leaving bruises, but those faded, and if Mikey was ever in true danger, Raph was always the first to jump into the fray and protect his little brother.

This was a different matter entirely. The Shredder had done far worse, had tortured Mikey to within an inch of his life in his search for information about the turtles and their sensei. This was intolerable. There was absolutely no way that any of them would let this slide. The Shredder had gone too far. He had attacked the youngest member of their family, captured him, tortured him, and almost killed him. Donatello knew that Leonardo would not forget this; he would remember and make sure that their enemy paid dearly.

Donatello came to Mikey's bedside; feeling fresh flashes of pain go through him. They all hated it when they couldn't stop their little brother's pain. The brainy turtle whispered, stroking Mikey's shoulder, "Wake up soon, little bro. It's way too quiet without you. If you die, who's going to make us laugh and remind us that there's always light, even in the darkest night?" He turned away, unable to bear seeing Mikey's lifeless form anymore. It was too painful.

When Mikey awoke, he was still warm, and there was still light. Raph's hand still clutched his. Maybe this was real. Mikey dared to open his eyes.

Raph was sitting by his bedside, clearly having fallen asleep, still clutching his hand. His face was full of guilt even in his sleep. Master Splinter was at the foot of his bed, in deep meditation… or was he praying? Even from the back, Mikey could tell that his father was troubled, but holding it together for the sake of his other sons. Don was dozing against the wall, his face troubled. Leo leaned against the doorframe, still awake, ever vigilant, watching over them all.

This confirmed it. Mikey now knew that he was home. Vaguely, he remembered lying somewhere, his family's anguished faces staring down at him. He also remembered saying something. What had he said? Never mind that. He had to let his family know that he was awake. Softly, he whispered, since his voice was rusty from lack of use, "Cowabunga!"

Leo's head snapped around to look in his direction. When he saw that he was awake, his face relaxed into a smile of relief. Master Splinter, seeing Leo's smile, turned to look at his youngest son. Don, even though he was partially asleep, jerked into wakefulness. Raphael, being a light sleeper, was awake in an instant.

"Mikey," he breathed, "Thank God."

"Hey, Raph," croaked Mikey. "What did I miss?

"Just a lot of moping around. We missed ya, Mikey. It's too quiet without you. Mikey, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I've already forgiven you, Raph. I'd forgiven you by the time I reached the fourth rooftop. I just didn't get to tell you. I thought I'd never get the chance. Are you sure I didn't miss anything?"

"Oh, wait, you did. While you were gone, Master Splinter came back. Turns out, he just fell into the river, made it to shore, and blacked out. He asked about you, I told him what happened, and we looked for you. I realized that there was a chance you might be in trouble, and we came as fast as we could. We found you on a pile of broken glass, bleeding and broken…" Raph stopped, his voice cracking. "We were so scared, Mikey. I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you how sorry I am. What the shell did those goons do to you?"

Mikey remained silent, and an awkward silence descended on the room. Raphael was just about to tell Mikey to forget it when Mikey finally answered, "I… I don't remember." That was an outright lie, and everyone knew it. However, nobody pressed the youngest turtle, not wanting him to have to relive the whole painful experience so soon after he had recovered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raphael noticed Donatello's eyes fire up, and he realized that Don knew in detail what the goons had done to Mikey. After all, Don wasn't considered the brainiac and doctor of the family for nothing. Besides, it was obvious that Mikey didn't want to talk about it; and who could blame him?

Mikey averted his eyes, staring at his hands. Raphael felt rage set in. Those goons were gonna pay! He would hurt them badly, if it was the last thing he did. However, Raphael controlled himself for Mikey's sake. His temper was what had caused all this, after all. He noticed that the others looked like they were thinking the same thoughts. Revenge would have to wait, though. Right now, they had to help Mikey heal both his emotional and physical wounds.

Three weeks later, they were awakened by a series of screams coming from Mikey's room. Raphael awoke first and ran at top speed to his brother's room. Donatello, Leonardo, and Master Splinter followed.

Mikey lay asleep, his face contorted into a look of extreme pain, and his body was covered in cold sweat. He tossed and turned, his fists clenching and unclenching. He groaned, and mumbled, "I'm not a waste of space."

Raphael tensed. Who the shell had told him that?

"I'm not useless," Mikey murmured.

Leonardo's eyes flashed. What had been done to Mikey?

Mikey's voice rose to a wild scream. "I'M HELPLESS!! I CAN"T MOVE!! I'M BLIND!! GUYS, HELP ME!!"

Donatello moved to Mikey's side then, gently rubbing his younger brother's shell in circular motions, whispering, his voice gentle and reassuring, "Shh… Mikey, it's all right. You're safe. It's just a dream. It's just a dream…"

Raphael joined Donatello, doubling the soothing effect. Together, they both held Mikey until he awoke from his nightmare. He was still trembling with horror five minutes later. Leonardo and Master Splinter joined the other two, trying to calm the baby of the family down. Once again, all of them felt anger rise within them. The Shredder had no right to do such cruel things to them. Especially not to Mikey.

When Mikey awoke from his nightmare, he was still shaking. The dream had been so vivid. He was back in the Foot headquarters, being tortured. The whisperings had begun, and this time, his denials had no effect. Then, the Shredder had come, raising his hand, the one with the two sharp blades, and it came down… Mikey had woken up.

Blinded by fear, Mikey was shaking like a leaf. Two pairs of hands were rubbing his shell, and Don's voice whispered reassurances, reminding him that he was home. He felt two pairs of arms lift him, and a voice say, "He's coming out of it." Raph.

"Yeah, it looks like it, but he's still shaking like a leaf." Don. The sound of his brothers' voices brought him completely out of his nightmare. How had they known? He got his answer shortly.

Master Splinter sat in front of him, worry evident on his face. Placing a hand on his shoulder, his father asked him, "My son, you were screaming in your sleep. Are you all right?"

Mikey flushed. He'd been screaming in his sleep? That was a mortifying thought. He felt like a wimp. "I'm fine, Sensei," he replied. "Just a night terror. Nothing special."

Leo, his face concerned, responded, "It sure didn't sound like it was nothing. It sounded like you were being tortured."

Raph asked, "Mikey, what did those goons do to you?"

Mikey stared down at his hands and ran his fingers through his sheets for a few minutes, and then finally answered, "Well, after I ran out that night… I was running rooftops, and when I finally slowed down, I was surrounded. I fought, but then I got knocked out. When I woke up, I couldn't see, feel, move or anything. Except hear. The Shredder told me to tell him what I knew. I told him to buzz off. Then, the whisperings started. They told me that I was alone, and pointed out my flaws. It didn't work, so they ran an electrical current in water. That's why I didn't feel anything. I was in undisturbed water at room temperature. I couldn't feel anything until they started running electricity into it. That didn't work either, so they used knives. All I could think was that I couldn't betray you guys, and that I had to be strong. Then, I noticed a way out, and I used it. I took out a few Foot ninja, and then, I had to make my escape, but I fell out a window, and that's the last I remember. But I remember wondering if maybe the Foot was right. Maybe I **was** useless… Maybe…"

Raphael broke in. "No, Mikey. You are **not** worthless. You may goof off, but you're the one who reminds us that no matter how bad things get, as long as we have each other, we'll be okay. You're the one who keeps us laughing.

A genuine smiled graced Mikey's face. He responded, "Hey, laughter makes you live longer."

"If that is the case, then, Michelangelo, you will probably live forever," replied Master Splinter with a smile.

They all burst out laughing.

"Mikey, we're brothers. Brothers stick together. Never forget that," Raphael told his brother.

Mikey responded, "I don't intend to."

"Good."


End file.
